Category: World News

Two centuries to the day after France imposed a crippling debt on Haiti in exchange for its independence, a UN forum heard calls for the restitution of what has long been described as a “ransom” extorted under the threat of force from the Caribbean nation that still bears the scars of colonialism and slavery.

Escalating armed violence, displacement, economic turmoil and disruptions to local food production are fueling hunger in Haiti and leaving millions at risk, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday. 

Xochimilco, nestled in the heart of Mexico City, is home to the ‘chinamperos,’ farmers who have used indigenous techniques to grow food for centuries. Today, their way of life is under threat from environmental degradation, urban expansion and climate change.

Extreme weather and climate impacts had a damaging toll on Latin America and the Caribbean last year, resulting in dying glaciers, record-breaking hurricanes, debilitating drought and deadly floods, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new report on Friday. 

The UN human rights chief sounded the alarm on Thursday over the rapidly deteriorating situation in Haiti, calling it a “catastrophe” fuelled by gang violence, widespread impunity and a political process that is hanging by a thread.

An increase in attacks on media outlets in Haiti by armed gangs which control most of the capital Port-au-Prince is intended to intimidate journalists and instill chaos according to the UN agency for culture, UNESCO.

In just one month, intensifying violence has forced over 60,000 people to flee their homes in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, marking another grim record in the country’s worsening humanitarian crisis.

Haiti is in freefall. Gangs are tightening their grip on the capital, violence is spreading, and “suffering permeates all social strata” in a nation teetering on the brink, according to the UN human rights office’s designated expert on the country, William O’Neill. 

Gang violence, political instability and economic turmoil have displaced over 700,000 people in Haiti, forcing families from their homes with nothing but what they can carry; some 5.5 million people – half of Haiti’s population – rely on humanitarian aid to survive.

The ongoing emergency in Haiti is crushing children’s chances of an education and a better future as scores of youngsters are recruited by heavily armed and violent gangs, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday.